Hamas claims deal agreed with Fatah over control of Gaza Strip

The rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah appear to have reached a partial deal over who should control the contested Gaza Strip and on what terms.

The Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, announced early on Thursday that a deal had been agreed in Egyptian-brokered talks in Cairo, and that details would be announced later in the day.

Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) officials confirmed to the Guardian that a deal had been reached but also said they had no further details.
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Amid the nascent signs of progress, a top Fatah official announced that the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, would visit Gaza for the first time in a decade “within less than a month”. If it goes ahead, the Abbas visit would be the first since 2007 when the Islamist Hamas movement assumed control of Gaza.

1. update with details at same link:

Under the agreement, the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority is to resume full control of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip by 1 December, according to a statement from Egypt’s intelligence agency. According to reports the agreement would also see Palestinian Authority forces take control of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

In exchange, the Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, and the PA are expected to lift crippling restrictions on electricity supply to Gaza that have made the lives of its 2 million residents miserable in recent months.

While significant on paper at least, the deal is similar to previous attempts at reconciliation between the two sides and which were unveiled with fanfares and public declarations of unity, only to quickly run into the sand.

Despite the reported agreement on the Rafah crossing, it is unlikely to make much difference in practical terms for goods entering Gaza from Egypt, while truck traffic to the northern Sinai remains restricted by the Egyptian military because of the ongoing security crisis there.